A mailman-turned boxer and a mustachioed newborn (really) are just a few of the charming new picture book characters that will keep young children entertained. Enjoy what authors and illustrators have dreamed up in these recent releases.

When Bad Astrid moves onto the street, there's one mean encounter after another with this new neighborhood bully. She squirt-guns sidewalk chalk drawings, chases chipmunks, and knocks down lemonade stands — your basic menace. But when Astrid's bike crashes and the bully has to ask for help, things take a turn. “Bad Astrid” is a rhyming book, which makes for a quick, entertaining read. And the characters (even the mean ones) are dogs so cute you'll want to adopt them.

Pip has a big red balloon, which he and his friend Posy both love. They take it for a walk. And the inevitable disaster ensues: Pip lets go. They chase the balloon until it pops, and Pip goes into full toddler-meltdown mode until Posy comes up with a clever solution. Is there something else they can play with that floats and is supposed to pop? Parents and toddlers alike will have been there, done that in this charmingly illustrated story, the latest in Scheffler's “Pip and Posy” series.

One hundred years ago or so, a Parisian postman named Lalouche found himself out of a job thanks to the new fleet of “electric autocars.” Lalouche needs work — for who else will support his yellow finch Genevieve? Voila! He becomes a boxer. Even though he's tiny he uses speed and determination to become “The Mighty Lalouche,” defeating all manner of big and scary opponents. There's a glossary of French terms in this wonderful, eccentric underdog tale. Blackall's imaginative illustrations are perfectly period.

Mustache Baby

By Bridget Heos

Illustrated by Joy Ang

Clarion Books $16.99, ages 4 to 8

Baby Billy is born with a mustache — a shock to his family, who can't figure out what this means. The nurse tells them they'll have to wait and find out if it's a good-guy mustache or a bad-guy mustache. Thankfully, Billy's mustache appears to be the good sort, and he becomes everything from a cowboy to a Spanish painter. But one day his family's worst fears come true. Billy's mustache curls at the ends and he begins to lead a life of crime, landing in jail (his crib). Can Billy and his mustache behave? This clever tale delivers both a funny plot and hilarious illustrations.